Sweet Sixteen
by DoubleKK
Summary: You know what this birthday means? It means that exactly eight years ago, my mom left. Yeah. Instead of getting all overexcited at her daughter turning eight, she was all "Sorry May, but I'm leaving forever. Oh, and Happy Birthday!"


**Sweet Sixteen**

DoubleKK

**A/N: Kay, so I wrote this for the contest in the Village Square forum. I'm not even sure if it fits the new theme, which is a New Place. I guess it kinda does... The characters are in new places in their lives....**

**Ugh. How corny.**

**Anyways, onto the story!**

**---**

Sixteen. Sweet Sixteen, as many call it. Ha. What's so 'sweet' about it? Sure, you're old enough to start driving. A lot of good that will do me, considering I live in a town in the middle of nowhere, where the closest thing to a car is a wheelbarrow. And I'm sure in some places, you're old enough to have sex or something like that. Once again, ha. Not like I'm going to be doing _that_ anytime soon. For me, it's just another lame birthday.

I've seen those dumb shows on MTV, since Grandpa broke down and finally got cable. Those girls go and have a 'fabulous time' with a million of their closest friends, and then come back acting like spoiled brats. Too bad real life isn't like that. For me, anyway.

Ugh. I don't know why I'm talking like this. I'm not exactly an optimist, but never usually this pessimistic. Maybe as soon as someone hits sixteen, they automatically start acting all negative and moody. Fantastic. On top of all this stupid day represents, I have to go all emo teen now? I hate my life.

...

Shit.

Now I'm really like one of those emo teens.

But at least I have a reason to be. You know what else this birthday means? It means that exactly eight years ago, my mom left. Yeah. Instead of getting all overexcited at her daughter turning eight, and throwing me a princess party (not that I would have wanted one. My only friend was a guy.) She was all, "I'm sorry May, but I'm leaving forever. Oh, and Happy Birthday!"

It's a miracle that I'm not emotionally scarred from this horrible parenting.

At least it could be worse. It's not like my mom's dead, or anything. She still calls. Sometimes. Okay, so it's been a year. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't bother me that my mom completely abandoned me and never bothers to check if I'm alive.

Okay, so maybe it does. A little.

To tell you the truth, I didn't even really know _why _she left. When I was old enough to question this, she was just like 'Oh honey, I just needed a change of scenery, that's all. I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me, but the city is no place to raise a child. No, you're much better off with Grandpa."

See how informative she is? For all I know, she could be some kind of drug dealer. Or a prostitute.

GAH! Why am I talking like this? It's not _that _bad a day! Positive thoughts, positive thoughts.... you get to eat cake, maybe a present or two....

My attempts at positive thinking were interrupted by a familiar voice behind me. "Hey, May."

Great. Just what I need.

"Hey, Stu. " I said in a monotone. I knew I shouldn't have come here. I could have gone someplace more private, but no, I had to go somewhere everyone knows I come. He must think I was waiting for him or something. I don't need him to come mock me, that's for sure...

"You okay?" Stu asked, sitting down next to me on the grass. I kept looking straight ahead into the Goddess pond, wishing he'd stop staring at me all concerned. Don't look at him, May...

I broke down and turned to face him. Bad idea. There was no way I was going to be able to look away now, not with his gray eyes right there. Damn.

I should probably mention that Stu had grown up quite nicely since the day my mom left. His round, boyish face had changed into one of a defined jaw and high cheekbones. He had also grown out of his dorky hair cut, and now his dark hair fell into his gorgeous, piercing gray eyes...

No. Stop those thoughts. They could get you into huge trouble. Again.

My inappropriate thoughts were actually the reason I hardly ever talked to Stu anymore, not to mention avoid him at all costs. You see, the problem with being the only two children in a tiny town of the same age is that you're always being forced at each other. It didn't really matter when we were young; neither of us had any other friends anyway. But when I was old enough to notice this and start having those dangerous thoughts, it didn't turn out so well.

Yes, puberty. Ugh.

I was stupid. Being a now love struck twelve year old girl, I decided to do some extremely _stupid_ things. I don't really want to go in to detail, but the best way to describe it was I threw myself at him. I scared him off, and we just stopped being friends.

Oh, and guess what time of the year this was around?

You got it. My birthday.

"May, are you listening?"

His deep voice jolted me out of my flashbacks. "What?" I snapped. My cheeks reddened in embarrassment at zoning out like that. "Why are you here, Stu? I'm fine. Just leave me alone." I tore my gaze from his sand stared at the waterfall again.

"So I'm not allowed to wish you a happy birthday?" he asked, a hint of hurt in his voice.

Oh, so I had hurt his feelings. Big deal. Not like he didn't deserve it. "No. Definitely not." I said stiffly.

He paused for a second. "I know this is a hard day for you and all, so I thought you might need someone to talk to and stuff..." Stu muttered.

Anger rose inside of me. Who the hell did he think he was? "Oh, so now you wanna talk? Don't go all Dr. Phil on me Stu, because I do NOT need this right now." I said loudly. He now looked not only hurt, but also a little pissed.

"Fine. You don't have to be such a bitch about it." He snapped, getting up. "What's your problem anyway? Since when are you all moody like this?"

That did it. I don't know if it was the fact that he decided he wanted to talk to me on today, of all days. Or that he was acting all sensitive like he knew what I was going through. Or maybe it was just PMS. But I just kind of lost it.

I stood up and got right in his face, forgetting chance of rational behaviour. I was almost as tall as he was now. "You know what Stu?" I said furiously. "I don't know what my problem is. Maybe it's that you decided to come and act all nicey-nice with me all of the sudden, after practically ignoring me for _four years. _Do you feel sorry for me or something? The little loner sitting in her corner on her birthday? Well, I don't your sympathy, thanks."

He looked extremely surprised at this little tantrum I was suddenly throwing, but did not recoil as I had expected him to. I stared at him, daring him to look away. Despite my fury, I couldn't help noticing how broad his shoulders were, and how his slightly defined biceps were coming out of his T-shirt sleeves...

Oh my Goddess. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I'm in this intense staring contest with my ex-best friend, and all I can think about is how hot he looks??

Did I mention that over the years, I did not, in any way, become hot? Unlike Stu, I had hardly changed at all appearance wise. Sure, I had grown quite a bit taller and had developed breasts, but other than that, I was still about as attractive as I was when I was eight. Maybe that's why Stu still ignored me, even after he was old enough to notice girls. I looked I could be his ugly little sister.

To my satisfaction, it was Stu who looked away first. "Goddess, May." He muttered. "Is that how you see me? As some jerk who blew you off when we were kids and feels bad about it?"

I blinked. I had been expecting some kind of snot nosed insult about how dramatic I was or something, not some guilty comment. But it was basically accurate. "Um, yeah." I replied flatly.

He sighed and sat back down on the grass. I stood there, not really knowing what to do. Half of me was telling me to run for my life, but the other was curious. I settled for sitting on a tree stump some feet away. There was silence.

"Look," I said exasperatedly. "Can you just tell me why you're here? You've made it quite clear that it's not just for a simple 'Happy Birthday.'"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "I...I came here to apologize."

Again, all I could do was blink at him. "For what?" I asked dumbly.

He looked at me again, full in the face. I hated it when he did that. It made me extremely uncomfortable, seeing as I hardly ever made eye contact with people. "For...everything." he said simply.

"Kay, you're going to have to specify here." I said dryly. I was very curious now, but I wasn't about to let him know that.

Stu smiled weakly. "You know...everything." To my surprise, he broke eye contact and started tugging at his shirt. "I don't why, but I felt like I had to talk to you today. I went to your house, but your grandpa said that you had left. So I knew you must have come here. You are always here, it's your favourite spot."

I still didn't know what he was getting at. "So... you came here to, what?" _Annoy the shit out of me and make me feel like an idiot? _I was tempted to say, but refrained from doing so. "Apologize? All you've done so far is call me a bitch and act all guilty."

He flushed a little bit, then continued. "Sorry about that....okay. I'll try to explain. So four years ago, you changed. You kind of....um, well, you became...." he seemed lost for words.

"A slut?" I supplied bitterly.

"Um, yeah. Let's go with that. Well, that kind of scared me. You were suddenly different from when we were younger, and I was still the same. I mean, I was twelve, but not quite mature enough to understand. So, I became a jerk." He smiled weakly. "That's what I'm apologizing for. Being a jerk."

I didn't say anything, so he continued. "Like, I know we still talked sometimes, like at festivals and stuff, but it was all fake and forced. I knew that you hated my guts. And by the time I realized how stupid I was acting, I was too scared to confront you. So, I'm sorry for being a coward too."

I couldn't look at him. I knew if I did, I would either start screaming or burst into tears. Either one would be not very smart. He kept talking hurriedly to fill my silence. "And I was hoping we could, you know...be friends again. Or maybe even..." he trailed off.

"What?" I said suddenly, my head snapping up. He looked surprised. "You think it's that easy?" I didn't even say it meanly. It was pure shock. I knew Stu wanted to ease his conscience, but even to go as far as asking for friendship again?

Unfortunately, he took my incredulous tone for one of malice, and got up quickly. "I'm sorry for even saying that. It was stupid. I'll leave now." He hurried past me, but I reached up and grabbed his sleeve.

"I..." I started to say, but couldn't find words to come out. He was staring down at me. Goddess, his eyes were so gorgeous, and there was even a look of hope in them. I finally managed to choke out, "Four years, Stu."

And then I burst into tears.

Just like that, he was next to me on the stump, frantically saying, "I know, I am so sorry, please don't cry..." and before I could stop myself, I had thrown my arms around him.

"Why does everyone always leave me?" I sobbed into his chest. Stupid PMS, making me so oversensitive. "First Dad, then Mom, and then you..." I don't know why I was saying this, seeing as I had never told anyone these feelings before.

"It's okay, I'm here now." He said, his voice sounding strained. He probably wasn't used to over-emotional teenage girls crying on his shoulder. At least there was one advantage to be the only two kids in a small town; he couldn't have gone out and gotten a girlfriend.

Not that I would have cared if he did. Because I wouldn't have.

Kay, maybe I would have cared a little bit.

It took a minute of full blown tears for me to realized how ridiculous I was acting. I abruptly pulled away from him and crossed my arms. "Sorry." I said, wiping my face on my sleeve.

"For what?" he asked, looking confused.

"For being melodramatic." I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Naw. It was my fault in the first place you had a breakdown."

"Don't blame yourself."

"But I'm the one to blame."

"Will you stop being all noble?" I said irritably, but pushing his shoulder playfully. "Stop flattering yourself, thinking that you are the cause of all my problems."

His face suddenly got more serious. "Look, I know today must suck for you, and-"

"I don't want to talk about it." I interrupted. I really didn't. I had my little sharing fest for the day, and didn't want to go any deeper. "Let's talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Random things." I shrugged. "So...do you still have that huge crush on Claire?"

As soon as I said that, I instantly regretted it. Stupid, May, stupid! Just because you think he's hot, doesn't mean you can start asking questions about stuff like that!

"Ha. No." He said smiling. "I gave that up a while ago. I don't think that Gray would have a problem beating me up, now that I'm closer to his size."

"Aw, no. Gray's a sweetie."

"Ooooh, who's got a crush now?" Stu said, smirking.

I scowled. "No way. Gray's hot and all, but he's Claire's anyway. If I'm gonna find love, I'm probably going to have to leave this town." I stared up at the sky, thinking of all the guys in the city.

"Really?"

I looked back down to see Stu had been staring at me intently. Oh, shit. Why did I have to open my big mouth? Now he's gonna think I'm leaving, and then things will get all weird again...

"Yeah, I guess." I said, trying to sound indifferent while internally kicking myself. "You know, I can't stay here forever."

"Huh." He said shortly.

I frowned. "Why? Are you planning on living here for the rest of your life?"

"Well, no." He admitted. "But I was wondering why you have to go away to find someone."

For a second, all I could think was '_What the hell is he talking about?_ Then something clicked. _No....but why would he...?_

He was looking at me again. Stupid gray eyes. It's like they're magnetized or something. One part of my brain was going off in red flashing lights, screaming 'ALERT! DANGER! DO NOT GO THERE!' But the other half practically had fireworks erupting.

So you can imagine my dilemma here.

"Mayflower." He said softy, using my old nickname. That did it. I abruptly shut off the warning sirens, and concentrated on my now pounding heart. I couldn't help think about how we definitely weren't kids anymore. It felt like the world had changed to since the day my mom left, or even when he decided I was a psycho.

I had read enough romance novels know what was supposed to happen next. I felt scared half to death, but leaned closer to him as gently touched my lips to his. My first kiss. With Stu. I guess it was always supposed to be him anyway, but I didn't care. It felt _good._ I could feel his nose against my cheek and his soft hair on my brow...I couldn't help reaching up and running my fingers through it.

When we eventually broke apart, he leaned his forehead against mine. "Happy Birthday." He whispered, smiling.

Huh. I guess sixteen turned out to be a little sweet after all. How cliché.

But I'm alright with that.

**A/N: Well, there ya go. You wouldn't believe that this was originally supposed to be angst. But as I started writing it, it ended up just as fluffy as the rest of my stories. -_- **

**Oh well. Hopefully this works for the contest. If it doesn't, someone let me know. **


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